


Look at all my trials and tribulations

by riverwrenwrites



Series: TUA Creator's Bingo [7]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Fix-It, Fluff, Gen, Mid-Canon, Season/Series 02 Spoilers, just a whole lot of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:20:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26482543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/riverwrenwrites/pseuds/riverwrenwrites
Summary: TUA Creator's Bingo EntryPrompt Filled: Ice CreamInstead of going their separate ways after the light supper with their father, the siblings pick each other back up and spend some quality time together.
Relationships: Number Five | The Boy & His Family
Series: TUA Creator's Bingo [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1715587
Comments: 13
Kudos: 196





	Look at all my trials and tribulations

“No skin off my teeth, old man.”

Five necked the brandy in his glass in an attempt to quell the uneasy feeling in his stomach. It had been a long forty-five years since he’d last felt his father’s eyes boring into him, regarding him with an expression you would expect more from a scientist observing their experiment than a parent looking at his child. It had been forty-five years, but right now he felt thirteen again. 

Clearing his throat, he hopped down from the barstool, feeling the same twist of anxiety in his gut that he’d felt the last time he left his father at the table without being excused. 

“I need to get my family out of this timeline,” He said, in answer to a question that hadn’t been asked. “And it looks like I’m gonna have to make a deal I  _ really  _ don’t wanna make.”

“Seems as though you’d be better off without them,” His father observed as he made his way towards the elevator. 

Five paused, clenching his jaw. For the briefest moment he considered the unthinkable, that right now he had the upper hand on his father. Right now he didn’t understand the full extent of his powers. One well-timed jump and maybe he could… No, idiot, he was here to  _ fix  _ the timeline, not mess it up even more. Shaking his head, he squeezed his fists and jumped back to the ground floor before he could do anything stupid.

He’d expected his siblings to have already dispersed, returning to whatever nonsense they’d been caught up in before their father invited them to supper. Instead, he found them all huddled together on the steps outside. Klaus was sprawled out across one step with his head in Vanya’s lap, groaning faintly and looking up when Five nudged him with his foot. 

“Oh, good,” He said, grunting as he lifted his arm in a sad attempt at punching the air. “The gang’s all here.”

“Klaus, can you have your breakdown a little more quietly?” Luther mumbled, sat on the step below Vanya and not bothering to look over his shoulder at them.

“ _ Christ, _ would it  _ kill  _ you to stop being an asshole for a few minutes?” Klaus managed to muster enough energy to smack Luther’s arm, though he didn’t even seem to register the touch. “Five’s here.”

This time he did look over at them, giving Five a small nod of acknowledgement. 

“What did dad say?” He asked as Five perched himself on the step next to him.

“Nothing of any use.”

Five leant forward to look over at Diego, who was sat with his arms folded tightly and his head down, slumped against Allison’s shoulder while she stroked his hair soothingly.

“Is he okay?” He asked, frowning when Luther shook his head. “I guess family dinners didn’t change much after I left.” 

Sniffling, Diego wiped his eyes with the heel of his hand and looked up at him, fixing him with a hard stare. 

“What did he say to you?” He demanded. 

“Nothing. I  _ literally  _ just said that.”

“Bullshit.” 

The others all looked at him expectantly and Five sighed, leaning back on his hands. 

“Fine. You wanna know what he said? He said I’d be better off without you idiots constantly getting in my way.”

Klaus snorted. “Of  _ course _ he did,” He said, sniggering hysterically. 

“What did you say?” Vanya asked. 

Five considered spinning some tall tale for them, about how he’d cussed their dad out left with the final word. It was a lie they’d all told each other countless times as kids. One of them would get scolded and then leave with their chest puffed out bragging about how they’d given dad what for, and the rest of them would pretend not to notice their red eyes and shaking hands. 

“I didn’t say anything,” He admitted, looking down at his hands. “I just left.”

They all fell silent at that, hanging their heads in collective defeat. 

“So, what do we do now?” Allison asked after a moment, and they all looked at each other, waiting for someone to pipe up and give them some kind of direction. 

“You know, I could  _ murder  _ a lemon sorbet right now.” Klaus grunted as he sat upright. “Who’s in?”

They all looked at him with varying levels of disapproval until Vanya piped up beside him. 

“There’s an ice cream parlour not far from here,” She told them. “I sometimes take Harlan there when he’s having a bad day. It usually cheers him up.”

“Yeah, because he’s  _ eight _ , Vanya,” Luther argued and she shrugged. 

“Do they serve alcohol?” Diego asked, and Allison laughed at the absurdity of the question but Klaus grinned. 

“I have alcohol.”

“Alright, I’m in.”

“Diego’s in!” Klaus clapped his hands excitedly. “Anyone else?” 

“Yeah, I’m game,” Allison agreed, Luther gave a somewhat reluctant nod, and Five suddenly found himself faced with the expectant faces of all his siblings. 

He didn’t really have time for this. He needed to find The Handler. But then, when it came to The Handler and the Commission, he had all the time in the world. 

“Alright,” He said with a shrug. “But if one of you pukes, I’m out.”

The ice cream shop was a small, independently owned place, tucked between a bank and a hair salon, and the woman behind the counter watched them with wide eyes as they walked through the door. She opened her mouth to say something when she saw Allison, and immediately shut it again when Luther walked in after her. 

“So!” Klaus said, putting his hands on his hips to try and assert some kind of authority. “What’s everyone having?”

“Wait, are you  _ paying?  _ ” Allison asked incredulously and he waved his hand at her.

“Pfft. I’m a  _ celebrity _ , Allie. Celebrities don’t have to pay for stuff.”

“How many people are in this ‘cult’ again?” Diego folded his arms, cocking his head curiously at him while Klaus started counting on his fingers. 

“Uh, about twenty now.”

“ _ Twenty?  _ Klaus, that’s not a cult, that’s just a group.” 

While the two of them bickered, Allison rolled her eyes and walked up to the counter. There was something about the way she was able to instantly recall all of their favourite childhood ice cream flavours that filled Five with a warm and comforted feeling. Mint choc chip for Luther, toffee for Diego, raspberry for her, lemon for Klaus, chocolate for him, pistachio for… Allison paused, glanced over at them, and scrapped that order, and vanilla for Vanya. Klaus and Diego huddled behind the table together like school kids, pouring whatever mixture of drinks Klaus had in his flask over theirs, while Luther and Allison neatly divided their portions in two so they could share, just like they always did as kids. Next to him, Vanya was watching them all with a small smile on her face.

“I’m guessing we didn’t get to do this much as kids?” She said, noting the giddy, excited looks on everyone’s faces. 

Five chuckled. “Dad wasn’t a fan of ice cream.”

“Or fun,” Allison added. 

“Hey! The guy had his moments,” Klaus said, pointing his spoon at her. “Remember the dignified chuckle he used to do at dinner parties whenever someone made a tasteful joke.” 

He proceeded to do a frighteningly good impression, raising his ice cream cup in place of a glass, and they all burst out laughing. Diego, who had already finished his ice cream and was now nursing Klaus’ flask in his hands, let out a loud, snorty laugh that Five hadn’t heard since they were nine, and they all turned towards him. 

“Di, are you  _ drunk?  _ ” Luther asked with a look of mild amusement on his face. 

“Of course I’m not-  _ woow _ .” Diego tried to stand up and immediately had to grab on to the table to steady himself, slumping back into his seat and looking at the flask in his hand. “Klaus, what the  _ fuck  _ am I drinking?”

“Iunno.” Klaus shrugged.

“How are you alive?”

“My doctor has wondered the same thing for years.” 

Diego stared at him incredulously for a moment before dissolving into another fit of giggles, and soon they were all laughing again. It occurred to Five that this was the first time they’d all done something  _ normal  _ together since he was thirteen, and that it was the first time since returning that he really felt like he’d gotten his family back. Vanya slumped against his arm, laughing so hard she could barely breathe, and he smiled. Their father had been right about a lot of things, annoyingly so. But there was one thing he  _ had  _ gotten wrong. 

Five was definitely better off with his family. 


End file.
